


King and Lionheart

by ShinobiShan



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bilbo bakes his feelings, Lot's of fluff, Lots of puppers, M/M, Not so good with people, Thorin is good with animals, Vet Thorin, Warning: Story contains descriptions of injured animals, and a little angst, but mostly lots of happy endings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-07-12 15:55:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15998507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinobiShan/pseuds/ShinobiShan
Summary: Thorin is great with animals, but not so great with people. One day Bilbo arrives at his clinic with a new patient, and Thorin decides that maybe people aren't so bad.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So this fic was inspired by binge watching the first 5 seasons of Supervet and falling slightly in love with Noel. If you haven't watched it I would highly recommend you check it out (but it's not necessary for the context of the story). Thorin’s character is also inspired entirely by Noel.
> 
> I have zero experience with veterinary medicine, so all medical information was taken from the show. I apologise if there are any mistakes or inaccuracies.
> 
> Important note: There will be absolutely no animal (or human) death in this story, so never fear. But if you’re sensitive to animal trauma be careful with the first chapter.

“Excuse me Bombur, but who exactly is meant to be exercising here? Me, or you?” Thorin panted out, addressing the rotund little bulldog laying at his feet. 

They were supposed to be having a hydrotherapy session as a part of Bombur’s weight loss regime, but the dog had decided that it would be much more entertaining to simply lay back as Thorin tried to wrestle him into his little life jacket.

With a huff Thorin surrendered and finally pulled a small treat from his pocket. Immediately Bombur stood up and waddled over to him, giving the vet the perfect opportunity to fasten the jacket around his tummy. Thorin had planned to slip the treat back into his pocket before the dog could get it, but apparently Bombur had the agility of a damn fox when motivated by food, and the treat had been snuffled away before he realised it was gone.

Thorin glared at the pudgy ball of fur. “All right, you win this round. But don’t think I won’t be prepared next time”.

*

After a fairly successful session in the pool which only involved Thorin getting soaked from the waist up this time, the bulldog was freshly washed and dried, and contently taking a well-deserved rest at his owner’s feet.

Bombur's elderly owner Mrs Johnson, smiled up at him from her seat in the waiting room.

“How did it go today, dear?” She eyed his soaked torso with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Not too bad” Thorin glanced at the dog knowingly. “But Mrs Johnson, Bombur really hasn’t lost much weight yet. Are you sure you’re sticking to his diet?”

“Yes of course. No midday meal, no treats, no fun”. She chuckled and scratched behind Bombur’s ears as he gave a sigh of agreement.

“But tell me dear, are you seeing anyone these days? It’s such a shame for a handsome man like you to be single.”

Thorin heard his nephews snickering behind the reception desk and took a deep breath as he forced out a curt smile. 

“No Mrs Johnson, like I told you last week I’m quite content just looking after this lot.” He gestured around the waiting room which was filled with his assortment of furry patients for the afternoon.

“Yes of course dear, of course. I just don’t want you to be lonely is all. It’s such a pity I’m not twenty years younger.”

Another snicker from the desk and a whisper of 'What's 200 minus 20?' had Thorin desperately trying to keep a straight face. Thank the lord the woman was hard of hearing.

“So, I’ll see you again at the same time next week then shall I Mrs Johnson?” he said, gently taking the woman’s arm and helping her from her seat.

“Yes doctor, we’ll be here.” She smiled as he handed her Bombur’s lead.

“And absolutely no treats. That includes the cheese I know you’ve been sneaking him.”

“Okay dear, see you next week. Goodbye boys.” She called to Thorin’s nephews who were still giggling behind the counter.

“Goodbye Mrs Johnson.” They chorused.

Thorin closed the door behind the pair and waved at them through the glass as they both toddled away. He let out a sigh and turned around to frown at Fili and Kili.

“Mrs Johnson sure has taken a liking to you.” Fili grinned.

“Yeah, her and every woman over the age of seventy in a ten kilometer radius.” Kili added with a giggle.

“Yes thank you, thank you. I don’t need comments from the world’s worst interns please. I thought I told you that you could work here on the condition that you keep your opinions to yourselves.”

“Aw but come on uncle Thorin, she’s got a point you know” Fili said thoughtfully. “You haven’t been with anyone since, well, ever.”

“Yeah and you sleep here almost every night, it’s kind of sad.” Kili nodded in agreement.

“Look, not that I have to explain myself to you brats, but I’m genuinely happy with the way things are. And besides, animals are way better than people.” Thorin shrugged and walked off towards the examination room, calling out the name of his next patient.

*

At long last the day was over, and Thorin ran a tired hand through his hair as he pushed the last stack of documents aside. There were hundreds of benefits to running your own practice, however, the endless mountains of paperwork was not one of them.

For the most part it had been a fairly uneventful day, but Thorin was certainly looking forward to curling up in the bed he kept in his office. Some people might call him obsessive, but he was on call 24 hours a day, so it only made sense to sleep at the practice.

He was just about to settle down for the night, when he heard a furious knocking on the main entrance door. Suspecting immediately that it was an emergency of some kind, he gathered up what little energy he had left and sprinted for the door.

In his haste to finish all his paperwork that evening Thorin hadn't noticed the steady pour of rain which had begun outside, and the result led to a very wet and hairy mess standing on the front steps.

Standing on the doorstep was one of the most forlorn sights Thorin had ever seen. A small man, not much taller than Thorin’s shoulder, was soaking wet and sobbing uncontrollably, clutching an equally wet golden retriever in his arms.

Without much hesitation Thorin rushed forward to collect the dog from the man, revealing an anxious, tear-stained face almost hidden by dripping curls.

“I’m so sorry, I…” the small man in front of him choked out as he handed over the dog.

Thorin immediately carried it inside, simultaneously launching into his list of first response questions.

“What happened? Tell me everything, and don't leave out any details.”

The distressed man was quick to follow him, trailing behind Thorin as they rushed towards the examination room.

“It was this bloody rain, I just didn’t see him until it was too late. I managed to swerve but I still hit his back legs.”

At this point Thorin was gently laying the trembling dog on his examination table, quickly trying to assess the damage.

“No visible bleeding, good, good.” He said more to himself than the man.

“Has he made any attempts to stand or walk since the accident?”

The soaking man shook his head, a few stray tears still leaking from his eyes. “He tried to get up immediately afterwards, but he couldn’t bear weight, so he just collapsed on the road.”

While he listened Thorin was carefully applying pressure along the dog’s lower spine. When the dog expressed no discomfort at this he moved on to the back legs.

“Do you know which side was hit?”

“The right. I wasn’t going very fast and I only just clipped him but…”

At this point Thorin had stopped listening and was slowly moving the dog’s right hind leg in a forwards and backwards motion.

At this point the dog let out a painful yelp, and the man’s breath audibly hitched in his throat.

“Okay buddy I know, I know.” Thorin whispered as slowly felt up and down the leg.

Meanwhile the man had started to back away slowly, eyes widening as if fearing his presence may injure the dog further.

Thorin gingerly released the dog’s leg, and absentmindedly began stroking its ears as he addressed the clearly terrified man in front of him.

“On initial examination I suspect a broken leg. It doesn’t seem like there is any damage to the spine, but I’ll need to do a scan and some x-rays to make sure.”

“Of course, whatever you need.” He said quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

The man looked on the verge of a complete breakdown, and although Thorin wasn’t all that adept at dealing with humans, he felt he had to do something to comfort him. 

“What’s your name?” Thorin tried to distract him as he continued to soothe the dog with calming strokes.

The man’s head snapped up. “I…my name is Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins.”

“Well Bilbo, my name is Thorin. Look, I know you’re feeling like the worst person in the world right now, but accidents happen. This could have been far worse, and while I can’t say for certain until I’ve done the scans, it doesn’t look too bad. So, I really need you to be brave for me right now, and more importantly I need you to be brave for him.”

Bilbo looked at him with a slightly shocked expression for a second, but then shook his head slightly as if to focus himself, and ran a hand over his tear-stained cheeks.

“Just do whatever you need to do, I’ll cover any costs involved.”

“Good man. I’m going to take him through now so feel free to wait in the waiting room. I’ll let you know when I have the test results.”

Thorin placed a hand on the trembling man’s shoulder and pushed him gently in the direction of the door. Once Bilbo was gone he carefully wheeled the dog through to sedate him for the scans. The dog was very good natured, despite clearly being in pain, and Thorin ran a hand affectionately over its head.

“All right mate, you’ve had a rough night so let’s see what we can do about that leg of yours huh?”

*

Bilbo made his way to the waiting room and collapsed onto one of the uncomfortable visitors’ chairs. His heart was still going a mile a minute, and he had an absolutely horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He knew that he hadn’t done anything wrong, that the rain had been heavy, and the dog had just bolted out in front of him, but he couldn’t help the burn of guilt that was rising in his throat.

He took a deep breath and grabbed a few tissues from a box he’d eyed on the coffee table. He dried his face and hair as best he could and removed his now soaking jacket.

Settling himself back in the chair he thought of the reassuring words Thorin had spoken to him, and how calm and collected the man had seemed. It helped to calm his nerves slightly, and he leaned back in the chair thinking about the strong hand on his shoulder, and the concerned eyes.

*

Around an hour later Thorin had completed all of his tests, and after studying the scans carefully he was very pleased with the results. The fracture to the tibia was pretty straightforward and would only require some minor surgery to realign. With a little time to heal, and some good physiotherapy, he’d be good as new in about 6 weeks.

It was nearly midnight when Thorin walked through into the waiting room to give Bilbo the news, but when he arrived he found the man dozing in his chair. He looked a little calmer than the last time Thorin had seen him, but there was still a slight frown creasing his face. His hair was mostly dry now, and it was all fluffy, making him look a little like a freshly brushed sheepdog.

'Cute'. Thorin thought to himself as he gently roused the man from his sleep.

Bilbo slowly cracked open one eye, but immediately straightened up when he remembered where he was.

“I’m so sorry, I must have dozed off. I didn't know how long you'd be. What were the test results? How is he? Is he okay?”

Thorin slowly put up his hand to stop the onslaught of questions and smiled gently. “As I suspected it’s just a break, absolutely nothing to worry about. I’ve managed any pain he might be having and settled him in to one of the kennels for the night. I’ll operate in the morning when the rest of my team arrives, so for now he just needs some rest to recover from the shock.”

Bilbo let out the breath he’d been holding, and without realising what he was doing he surged forward and wrapped Thorin in a tight hug.

“I don’t know what to say, just, thank you so much.”

Thorin wasn’t entirely surprised by the man’s actions, as unexpected 'thank you' hugs were part of the deal of being a vet. But what did shock him was the sudden warmth that spread through his body as Bilbo held him. Granted he smelled mostly of the rain and wet dog, but his hair had a faint vanilla scent which Thorin was not opposed to at all.

Eventually Bilbo stepped back, clearing his throat, and looked at Thorin with a shade of embarrassment painting his face. “Sorry about that, I just…”

“No need to apologise, you’ve both been through a lot tonight. As for now there’s nothing more we can do but wait until morning. So, I would suggest a stiff drink and a good night’s sleep.” Thorin gently patted Bilbo’s shoulder, not unlike the way he might try to comfort a nervous pup.

Bilbo looked slightly hesitant to leave. “Could I…well…do you think it would be okay if I checked on him quickly? I just want to make sure he’s really okay.”

Thorin considered this for a minute, knowing full well that the dog was completely knocked out by the drugs, and wasn’t going to be aware of his surroundings at all for a good few hours. However, the soft pleading tone in Bilbo’s voice convinced him that a quick visit wouldn’t hurt. 

“Of course, follow me.”

They walked through the back of the examination room, into the area where the kennels were. There were a number of patients settled in for the night, and some soft snores could be heard coming from a few of them.

Thorin led Bilbo over to a large kennel in the corner and opened the door to reveal the retriever sleeping peacefully. His leg had been stabilised by a splint and bandages, and he was curled up in a mountain of soft, fluffy blankets. Thorin had carefully dried and brushed the dog’s fur, so he was completely warm and comfortable.

Bilbo felt tears springing to his eyes again as he looked at the peaceful dog, and with his small frame he had no problem climbing in beside him. He carefully stroked the dog’s fur so as not to disturb him, and looked up at Thorin with watery eyes.

“Thank you, you must be an angel.”

Thorin’s eyebrows shot up, and he cleared his throat to mask his surprise at the statement. “Ah yes, well. I have a couple of things to clear up, so I’ll give you two a few more minutes before I let you out.”

“Okay.” Bilbo nodded, content to snuggle in with the dog a while longer.

When Thorin returned a few minutes later he found Bilbo dozing again, his head resting against the back of the kennel, while his hand was still lightly touching the dog’s back.  
Thorin looked at the sleeping pair and felt something twinge in his heart. It was the same feeling he got when someone brought in a particularly adorable puppy, but he had never felt that feeling in relation to a human before.

“This can’t be good…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first story I've written in about 4 years, so I apologize for my terrible writing. I hope you've enjoyed it so far.
> 
> Any and all comments are welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has read this fic so far! The response has been absolutely lovely.
> 
> Anyway, on to the next chapter. Enjoy the feels.

Bilbo slowly awakened, acutely aware after a second or two that he was not in his own bed. For one thing he was curled up on what seemed to be a couch instead of his lumpy mattress, and for another, his bedroom had never smelled quite so much of dog and disinfectant before.

Despite this fact Bilbo felt more rested than he had in a very long time, and he eventually peeled open his eyes with utmost reluctance. The first thing he saw were a pair of beady brown eyes staring at him, and before he had a second to react his face was being assaulted with a very rough tongue.

“Gah get off, get off.” Bilbo giggled as he gently tried to push his attacker away.

He managed to pull himself into a sitting position, only to immediately receive a lap full of over-excited beagle. Bilbo huffed when the dog accidentally kicked him in the stomach and tried to calm the pup down as he began to gather his thoughts.

He remembered all the previous night’s events in vivid detail, but things became a bit blurry after he’d checked on the injured golden retriever. He supposed he must have fallen asleep, but that didn’t explain why he was now sharing a room with a beagle.

He stood up slowly, stretching out his neck which had cramped up slightly from his time on the couch, and looked around the room. It appeared to be a consultation room of some sort, and he spotted a couple of soft blankets on the couch, which had obviously been draped over him as he slept. His jacket was hanging next to the couch on a chair, and on inspection Bilbo found that it was now entirely dry.

He glanced down at the dog who was still wagging his tail happily in his direction and smiled as he walked over to the door. It had a small window in it, and through it he could see part of the kennels he had visited last night.

He then attempted to open the door, but upon turning the handle he found that it was well and truly locked. Frowning, he pushed at the door again without any success before turning to his bed partner.

“I don’t suppose you know how to open this door do you?”

The beagle quirked its ears in his direction, raising its eyebrows slightly before flopping back down onto the blankets.

“Well thanks, fat lot of help you are.” Bilbo looked out of the window again, deciding the only thing to do was to try and get someone’s attention.

“Hello! Is anyone there? I’m kind of stuck.” He called into the empty room.

At once he heard a chorusing reply of barks, meows, and chirps. ‘Well at least I know this room isn’t sound proof.’ He mused.

He was just about to call out again when two confused faces suddenly peered at him from just outside the window.

“Oh my god Kili, it’s a human.” a young blond-haired man said, stepping closer as he spoke.

“Aw really?” A second, dark-haired man trailed behind the first, looking slightly disappointed. “I thought for sure that one of these dogs had started talking. I was so ready to live my Eliza Thornberry dream”.

The pair began to laugh as Bilbo stared at them from behind the glass window.

“Um excuse me, but what exactly is going on? Where is Thorin?”

“Oh, he’s in surgery, should be finishing up any second now. He’s operating on an emergency patient that came in last night.” The blonde man replied, making no move to open the door.

“Last night? Wait, what time is it?”

The brunet looked at his watch. “It’s about 8:45.”

“In the morning??” Bilbo almost shouted in shock, earning a loud sigh of annoyance from the dozing beagle behind him.

“Yes, in the morning.” The brunet tilted his head in confusion. “Excuse me for asking, but who are you?”

“And what exactly are you doing in there?” The blond added.

Bilbo was pretty sure the glare he gave the pair of men should have melted the glass in front of him.

“I’m Bilbo, and I’d damn sure like to know the answer to that question myself. Now would either of you be so kind as to let me out of here?”

As if the concept had just dawned on them both men rushed forward and slid back what sounded like a deadbolt on the other side of the door. As soon as the little beagle heard the sliding metal it immediately shot up and began to run towards freedom. The men swung the door open and Bilbo had just enough time to take a single step forward before his legs were bowled out from underneath him by the speedy canine, and he crashed backwards, hitting his head with a loud crack on the floor.

“Jesus Christ!” Bilbo yelled, grabbing at his head to make sure none of his skull had come away, because believe you me it certainly felt like it had.

The two men now towering over him immediately went into panic mode. “Fili do something!”

“I don’t know what to do Kili, he’s a human, not a fucking spaniel!”

“So? spaniel’s still have brains. You’re the vet-in-training.”

“Yes, but they’re obviously much smaller than his you idiot.”

“Yeah, like yours apparently.”

Bilbo was beginning to see stars as the bickering voices slowly started fading out. His eyes began to water as he felt a large lump starting to rise on the top of his head. 

“What is all the noise about?” A familiar deep voice suddenly sounded from somewhere behind them. “I was only trying to realign a broken tibia in there, it’s not like I needed peace and quiet or anything.”

Thorin was making his way over to his nephews, slowly peeling off his surgical gloves and throwing them into a nearby bin, when he noticed Bilbo laying on the floor in front of them clutching his head.

He stopped dead for a second, almost as if he didn’t recognise him, before rushing forward and kneeling beside the pained man.

“Move your hands so I can see.” 

Thorin slowly lifted Bilbo’s head into his lap, gently removing his fingers so he could examine him. He brushed a careful hand over his head, checking for any blood, before bending closer to look Bilbo in the eye.

“Are you feeling okay? Any light-headedness, or dizziness?”

“Well I was almost murdered by a beagle, and I feel like my brain has been thrown against a concrete wall, but other than that I’m just fine.” Bilbo managed to wince out as Thorin ran his fingers once more over the lump.

“It seems like your sense of humour is still intact, so I reckon you’re probably going to be all right.” Thorin slowly guided Bilbo into a sitting position. 

At this point the culprit had wandered back over and was now licking Bilbo’s hand gently in apology. He tried his absolute best to be angry, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at those comically floppy ears.

Reaching over to pet him he smiled softly. “Next time watch where you’re going, all right?”

He slowly got to his feet, aided slightly by Thorin’s hand on his shoulder, and took a tentative step forward. As he suspected however his equilibrium was still a little off, and he ended up toppling sideways, straight into Thorin’s broad chest.

Immediately strong hands caught his arms and held him steady, helping him over to a nearby chair.

“Seems like you might need to take it easy for a while.” Thorin was looking into his eyes once again, checking for any signs of a trauma.

“Would you two terrors make yourself useful and fetch the man some water. And maybe throw in a couple of those equine-grade painkillers while you’re at it.”

Bilbo’s eyes widened at the words, but Thorin just chuckled as his nephews nodded and disappeared into the front.

“Sorry, just a little vet humour. We all enjoy a bit of horsing around.” Thorin deadpanned.

“God, either that was the worst pun I’ve ever heard, or I really do have a brain injury.” Bilbo smiled despite the utterly horrendous joke.

Thorin returned the smile. “Sorry, I only get to test them out on my patients, and they usually seem to enjoy them.” The dog gave a small grunt in the affirmative from his place next to Thorin’s leg.

“What happened anyway? Don’t tell me those two had something to do with it?” He gestured in the direction the men had gone.

“What happened indeed? Care to explain why I woke up locked in a strange room with a beagle?” Having been momentarily distracted by head trauma Bilbo focused once again on his original mission.

“Ah yes, well you see...” Thorin bit his lower lip and stared pleadingly at the beagle who was now nuzzling Bilbo’s hand. The dog gave him a sympathetic look but was ultimately more interested in trying to get Bilbo to scratch behind his ears.

“Traitor.” Thorin muttered under his breath.

“Go on?” Bilbo straightened up, folding his arms impatiently.

“Well.” Thorin took a breath. “You fell asleep next to the retriever last night, and I was going to wake you up, but you seemed so peaceful, so I was just going to let you sleep there. But then I realised that you might accidentally crush the dog’s leg in your sleep, so I moved you into the office with Bofur. This is Bofur by the way, but then you two have already met I suppose." He gestured towards the dog. "Anyway, I was going to wake you this morning, but I got caught up prepping for the surgery and I forgot, and well, here we are.” he explained, almost without stopping.

“Okay…” Bilbo tried to soak in the overload of information. “And you locked the door because?”

“Ah, I didn’t want you to get out.”

“Didn’t want me to…excuse me but I’m not an ill-behaved dog.” Bilbo stared at him in utter disbelief.

“I know that.” Thorin stated plainly, but Bilbo wasn’t sure he actually did. “But there’s a lot of expensive equipment in here.”

“And what? You thought I was going to tear up your charts? Chew the leg off an MRI machine?”

“Well no, I…”

“Look,” Bilbo said, pinching the bridge of his nose where the beginnings of a headache had begun to settle. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who barged in here with an after-hours patient, that I injured, and I still had the nerve to fall asleep in your practice. Barring the rude awakening you’ve been nothing but kind to me, so thank you.”

Thorin stared at him for a second before clearing his throat. “Where have those boys gotten to with your water and painkillers?” He glanced behind him, avoiding Bilbo’s gaze entirely.

Bilbo sensed the man’s discomfort and tried to steer the conversation back to safer ground. “They told me that you’d performed the surgery already. How did it go?”

At the mention of his work Thorin immediately seemed more open to the idea of talking.

“Well as I told you it was a pretty straight-forward fracture, so we didn’t have much trouble fixing him up. I inserted a metal plate and stabilised it with a few rods while it heals. He’s going to need a fair amount of care and physical therapy, but he should have absolutely no lingering problems. And besides that, he’s a very good boy, so I have no doubts he’ll recover quickly.”

Bilbo let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you again, I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t found you.”

“No thanks necessary, it’s what I do. If you’re feeling up to it, we could go and see him. He’ll still be very groggy from surgery, but he could probably do with some love and cuddles.”

Bilbo smiled to himself hearing the large, serious man talking in such sweet terms about a dog he had only just met, it was very endearing. 

“Well, I’m already two hours late for work, so I guess a little longer won’t hurt.”

Thorin nodded and offered him a hand, helping him to his feet and guiding him towards the recovery room.

Once through the door Bilbo was met with a fairly large, bald man wearing identical operating scrubs to Thorin. The man was currently half bent inside a recovery unit, and upon hearing the door close he straightened up and looked at the pair who had just entered.

“I take it you’re here for this one?” The man gestured towards the padded kennel containing the very sleepy looking golden retriever.

Bilbo nodded, a large twinge of guilt running through him as he wondered whether Thorin had told his colleague how the dog had been injured.

The man must have sensed his remorse because he suddenly gave Bilbo a warm smile. “Don’t beat yourself up over what happened lad, you brought him to the best possible place and there’s no doubt with Thorin’s handiwork that he’ll live to chase hundred of pigeons and eat plenty of shoes.”

Bilbo felt tears pricking his eyes for the second time that morning, and he nodded thankfully at the man, not trusting himself to speak.

“The name’s Dwalin by the way, and I’m sure our little patient here would be happy for a few tummy rubs.” He stepped aside to give Bilbo full access to the dog.

Bilbo carefully lowered himself down next to the golden ball of fur, and lightly ran a hand over his back. At the touch the dog let out a low whine, and Bilbo immediately withdrew his hand as if it had been burned.

“It’s okay, they tend to whine a lot after coming off of anaesthetic, but he’s completely fine I promise.” Thorin was quick to reassure him.

Hesitantly Bilbo ran his hand over the soft fur once more, and the dog curled slightly into the touch, letting out a content sigh.

“Hey little lionheart, you’re doing so well buddy.” Bilbo whispered softly.

Dwalin meanwhile was watching Thorin, who in turn was looking at Bilbo like he was a particularly cute new-born litter of kittens.

“So, is that look in aid of the dog, or the lad?” Dwalin whispered, as he elbowed Thorin softly in the side.

Thorin immediately fixed his colleague with a glare. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t you have a litterbox to clean or something?”

Dwalin snorted and turned to leave. “Whatever you say boss.”

Once he was gone Thorin slowly lowered himself down at the opposite end of the dog and began scratching behind his ears.

“I know he’s technically not yours, but he’ll need a name while he’s here. Something fitting of our little lionheart.”

Bilbo definitely didn’t miss the repeated use of the word and threw a small glance at the vet.

“What about Leo?” He asked softly.

Thorin turned to look at him with a wide smile. “That is pretty much perfect. What do you think, Leo?” He turned his smile towards the dozing pup.

Leo gave a soft snore in reply, and both men let out a happy laugh.

“Leo it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you enjoyed the second chapter, I'm off to watch more Supervet for inspiration.
> 
> As always, any and all comments are welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken me so long to update! It's the equivalent of thanks giving here in Korea at the moment, so I've been taking a little break.
> 
> Thank you so much for the amazing response on this fic, I'm so happy you're enjoying it so far.
> 
> Also for reference sake, and because who doesn't need more pictures of Richard Armitage in their lives, this is how I picture Thorin in this fic: [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/8218449667dab852667b44c09d8b4866/tumblr_p0ymb95n9b1urox72o1_500.jpg)
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!

After being reassured that Leo was all fixed up and on his way to recovery, Bilbo decided it was about time he took his leave.

Giving the now snoozing dog one more scratch behind the ears he slowly got to his feet and manoeuvred himself out of the kennel.

Thorin followed suit, pausing only to run a highly trained eye over Leo’s bandaged leg, before exiting behind Bilbo.

The pair walked out into the reception area where Kili and Fili were watching them with a curious eye from behind the desk.

Bilbo hesitated at the door, realising quickly he hadn’t made any arrangements for Leo’s care.

“Thank you again for everything you’ve done.” He gave Thorin a warm smile. “I’m not sure how this works, but I would like to pay for Leo’s treatment now if that suits you?”

“Oh, don’t worry, that won’t be necessary. Since Leo is essentially a stray I’m inclined to treat him free of charge. It’s our policy whenever a patient is brought in without an owner.” Thorin replied firmly.

A soft snort came from behind the reception area. “Since when?”

Thorin immediately shot a glare at his nephews, wiping the smirks instantly from their faces.

“Oh, but please, I insist.” Bilbo chose to ignore the comment entirely. “I’m responsible for Leo, and I’d like to pay for anything he might need.”

Thorin was quiet for a second, giving Bilbo an assessing look that the shorter man couldn’t quite place.

“All right, I suppose that will work. Under these circumstances I would suggest paying for the initial surgery now, and the making another payment once all of Leo’s physical rehabilitation is over. You can sort everything out with Kili over there.” He nodded at his dark-haired nephew.

“Perfect.” Bilbo smiled, but there was still a hint of hesitation behind it.

He started to move towards the desk, but stopped halfway, turning back to Thorin.

“Please tell me if this is overstepping some sort of boundary, but I don’t really know how these things work, and I know I’ll regret it if I don’t ask.”

Thorin swallowed, face heating at the prospect of what Bilbo was about to ask him.

“Could I…well…I mean, would it be okay if I came back to visit him?”

Thorin’s eyebrows raised in surprise for a second.

“Oh. Well yes of course, that wouldn’t be a problem.” Thorin instantly felt silly for thinking Bilbo might be asking anything else.

“Great, that’s wonderful.” Bilbo smiled at him again, a genuine one this time.

“If you’re interested you could help with some of his physical therapy, we always find it helps if someone familiar is present anyway. I could show you how his exercises work, and you could take him for walks in our garden when he’s a bit better.” Thorin rattled off his suggestions, not fully understanding why he was making so many efforts to encourage the man to return.

Bilbo seemed genuinely pleased with the ideas and nodded vigorously. “That all sounds perfect, is there any time that would be best?”

Thorin quelled his initial urge to yell ‘anytime’ very loudly into Bilbo’s face, in favour of calmly saying; “We usually have physical therapy every day from 14:00 – 15:00, so if you’re free you’re welcome to drop by then.”

“That’s perfect, I’ll definitely stop by.”

Thorin wasn’t sure what else to add, so he simply nodded in agreement.

“Well, I suppose I’d better get myself to work now. Thank you again for everything, you’ve been truly wonderful.”

Thorin had thought he was used to receiving compliments like that, but something about this one felt different.

“I hope your boss won’t be too angry at you for being late.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Bilbo chuckled. “I am the boss.”

He turned once more towards the reception desk.

“Okay well I won’t take up anymore of your time, I’ll just sort things out and head off.”

Thorin nodded. “I’ll see you again then I suppose.”

“Oh yes, probably sooner than you’d like.” Bilbo gave him one last smile before walking off to settle the payments.

Thorin stood watching him for a second, before realising he still actually had work to do, and headed off towards the back.

*

“Sooooo. Are we going to talk about what just happened, or…?” Dwalin greeted Thorin as he walked into the back area, a smile still on his face.

“Nope.” Thorin replied immediately, strolling past him towards the door that led to the kennels.

“But…” Dwalin began, only to be cut off swiftly.

“We have morning rounds to do, and breakfast to serve. So, unless you want to be faced with the prospect of a canine uprising, I’d get to work.”

“So grumpy.” Dwalin chuckled as they began checking up on their patients.

Thorin simply gave him a withering look, before picking up the chart in front of him.

“Good morning Bard, I trust you had a pleasant night’s sleep.” Thorin looked fondly at the mottled brown and white pointer stretching lazily in front of him.

Bard was a fairly regular patient at the practice, often landing himself into troublesome situations. He was owned by an avid hunter and had somehow ended up with an arrow in his thigh muscle while out retrieving pheasant.

It had been a pretty superficial wound, but Thorin had kept him in for a few nights just to make sure there was no infection. He scratched the dog lazily behind his ears as Dwalin checked on the bandages.

They completed their rounds quickly, checking on 7 dogs, 4 cats, a rabbit, and a pair of budgies, before Thorin went off to prepare for his morning appointments. 

Kili and Fili smirked at him from behind the front desk as they handed him his first patient’s chart.

“Oh lord save us, not again.” He groaned, as he noticed the patient’s name. 

“Are they already here?”

“Of course, they’re in exam room two.” Fili smiled knowingly.

“No matter how many times I tell that woman that we only open for appointments at 10:30, she insists on arriving here early. I haven’t even had my breakfast yet.” Thorin grumbled as he headed towards the room.

“They said it was an emergency.” Kili shouted after him, traces of a smile in his voice.

“Emergency my ass.” He whispered.

Steeling his face into a patient smile, he opened the door to find an expectant looking woman, and an even more expectant looking cat staring back at him.

“Good morning Mrs Greenleaf, and what can I do for you today?” Thorin tried his best to retain a sense of professionalism.

The elegant older woman eyed him over once before looking at the irritated Siamese in her lap.

“Oh, it’s just awful doctor, poor Thranduil is in a terrible way. He has barely touched his food.” The woman gave him a look of anguish that should only be reserved for the death of a relative.

“I see. And how long has he been refusing meals?” Thorin took out the cat’s chart to make some notes.

“Since breakfast.” The woman stated plainly.

“Since…so he has missed one meal then?” Thorin put down his pen.

“And his 9 o’clock snack. It’s just too awful doctor.” She began nervously adjusting the intricate silver collar around the cat’s neck. Catching the light from the fluorescent bulbs overhead were an array of diamonds and rubies, probably worth more than his new MRI machine.

Thorin would never in a million years say that he hated an animal, but there were definitely ones he disliked, and Thranduil was one of them. It was partly down to the fault of his owners spoiling him, but the cat himself had a terrible temper and no people skills whatsoever, which usually led to Thorin leaving with more scratches than he’d strictly like.

“All right Mrs Greenleaf well you just hold on to him and I’ll see if I can find something to tempt him with.” Thorin smiled curtly before exiting the room.

Fili and Kili were just outside, eagerly awaiting news of Mrs Greenleaf’s newest pet-related hypochondria.

“So what’s the problem this time?” Kili asked with a grin.

“His Highness won’t eat.” Thorin snorted, heading towards the employee fridge.

“What, he didn’t want his post-lunch, pre-dinner snack or something?” Fili chimed in, eyeing his uncle with interest.

Thorin was scratching through the shelves, pushing aside half eaten yogurt pots and day-old sandwiches, seemingly looking for something in particular.

“Ha, I knew it.” He triumphantly pulled out a tray of freshly prepared sushi which had been hidden behind an old box of orange juice, and began dismantling one of the intricate salmon roses.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing? That’s my lunch.” Dwalin suddenly appeared at his side, seemingly from nowhere.

“Well, his lordship king Thranduil of Greenleaf hasn’t eaten since last night, so I thought a bit of premium salmon might take his fancy.”

Dwalin just stared forlornly at his ruined meal. “But I went to the good place and everything…”

“It’s for a worthy cause I assure you.” Thorin clapped a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, I expect to be treated to lunch at least once this week as compensation. And don’t you dare try that instant ramen bullshit again.” Dwalin took the remnants of his lunch from Thorin and placed it carefully back into the fridge.

Thorin simply chuckled and walked back into the examination room.

“All right now let’s see if this works.” Thorin crouched down so he was eye level with the cat and offered him a small piece of salmon.

Thranduil’s piercing blue eyes looked at him suspiciously, before he moved gracefully towards Thorin’s outstretched hand. He sniffed at the salmon, giving it a small lick before swiftly gulping it down.

“Well there we are then.” Thorin straightened up and looked at Thranduil’s relieved owner.

“I wouldn’t worry too much if he misses a meal of two in the future. Cat’s sometimes catch things while they’re out hunting, so it’s possible that he was just full.”

Thorin absentmindedly reached out to stroke the cat’s head, forgetting completely who he was dealing with, and quickly found five very sharp claws embedded in his hand.

Only years of training prevented him from swearing very loudly, and he instead let out a small pained grunt before glaring at the offending feline. Meanwhile said cat had settled himself smugly back on his owner’s lap and was licking the paw/instrument of torture leisurely.

“Well I’d best be off then. I need to get Thrandy here to his kitty spa appointment, and then I’m off to hot yoga.” Mrs Greenleaf settled the Siamese in her arms and turned towards the door.

“Okay, take care now.” He followed her out, keeping an eye on the cat as he glared at Thorin from over his owner’s shoulder.

Once the pair had exited the building Thorin very discreetly shot two middle fingers in the cat’s general direction and made his way over to the first aid kit. He quickly disinfected the five bleeding puncture wounds and stuck a plaster haphazardly over them.

By now the reception area had begun to fill up with the morning’s patients, and in the corner he spied a German Shepard puppy with the most comically large and fluffy ears he’d ever seen.

‘Well at least the day can’t get any worse.’ He thought to himself.

*

Thorin was about to retire to his office for the evening when he decided to go and make a quick visit to Leo. Fili had checked in on the dog throughout the day and reported that everything was looking good so far, so Thorin wasn’t too worried about the brave retriever, but he decided that a small look-in wouldn’t hurt.

When he reached Leo’s kennel he found the dog snoozing peacefully, curled up on a pile of fluffy blankets, and resting his head against a little stuffed rabbit. He suspected that Kili had probably made the addition of the toy, insisting that every patient needed a friend.

He quietly unlocked the kennel door and knelt down beside the sleeping dog, watching his chest rise and fall calmly. He seemed to be comfortable, and by the looks of it his bandage was fresh and well wrapped, so he decided to leave the pup in peace.

As he was closing the kennel door he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket, and quickly fished it out. He left his personal number on their business cards in case of emergency, and unless Dwalin was going to tell him off about the sushi incident again, the vibration was probably pet-related.

But to his surprise he lit up the screen to find a series of texts from a number he didn’t recognise. He opened them and immediately broke into a wide smile.

_Received 21:03:  
Sorry to text you so late. And so out of the blue. I snagged one of your business cards on my way out this morning and I noticed your number was on it. Anyway, I just wanted to check in on how Leo was doing?_

_Received 21:03:  
This is Bilbo by the way._

_Received 21:04:  
Sorry, texting your personal number is probably crossing the line. I’m sorry if this is bothering you._

_Received 21:04:  
And sorry for now spamming your inbox._

Thorin chuckled at the string of messages, typing back a quick reply to reassure the anxious man.

_Sent 21:05:  
It’s not a problem, Leo is doing well. I just checked in on him actually, and he’s sleeping like a baby._

_Sent 21:05:  
And don’t worry about texting me, plenty of clients do._

The last part was a lie, but he wanted to make sure that Bilbo didn’t hesitate to contact him in the future.

He only had to wait a few seconds before another series of vibrations assaulted his phone.

_Received 21:06:  
That’s great news, I’m so glad he’s doing well. And it’s all thanks to you of course._

_Received 21:06:  
If it’s okay with you I’ll probably pop around tomorrow afternoon to check in on him. I hope that won’t be a problem._

_Received 21:07:  
If it is I totally understand._

Thorin thought for a minute before opening the camera on his phone and snapping a quick photo of Leo cuddling up to the stuffed rabbit. He sent it off to Bilbo with a short message and immediately put the phone back into his pocket.

_Sent 21:09:  
We’ll be waiting._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know nothing too exciting happened in this chapter, but things are going to start getting a little more serious from here on out.
> 
> I'll try to update ASAP.
> 
> (Also if you guys want a little more of Bilbo's perspective let me know!)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this chapter just did not want to be written, I'm so sorry it took so long.

Bilbo Baggins considered himself a very rational human being. He was 32 years old, he owned a small café, he went to bed early, he never got himself into any kind of trouble, and his idea of doing something naughty was having an extra cupcake after dinner.

So why he had decided to text Thorin after all the stress he must have caused the poor man was completely beyond him. Times like these called for council from the wisest person he knew…himself.

‘All right Baggins, it’s time to get it together.’ He muttered to himself, pacing back and forth across his bedroom.

‘Let’s think about this logically shall we. You showed up at Thorin’s practice in the middle of the night, you brought him a soaking wet, injured dog, almost had a panic attack in his office, and then proceeded to fall asleep and impose completely on his kindness. There’s no way in hell he would even be remotely interested in you after all that’.

Bilbo let out a sigh and flopped down face-first onto his soft mattress, the springs letting out a few creaks at the sudden weight.

‘And let’s be honest here, it’s not like someone like that would be remotely interested in me under normal circumstances anyway. I mean come on, no one is that perfect, right? Like it wouldn’t be fair if the universe had given him brains, good looks, and compassion for all living creatures. He must have some huge character flaw, like he hates chocolate, or doesn’t eat cake, or heaven-forbid he’s the kind of guy who wakes up at 4 a.m. to go to the gym.’ Bilbo shuddered at the very thought.

He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling as he felt the beginnings of an existentialist crisis setting in, when he heard his phone vibrate again. He scrambled across his bed to grab it, getting tangled in the comforter in the process and almost landing clean on his face. 

He excitedly opened the reply from Thorin, and as soon as he saw the picture of Leo cuddling with the rabbit he let out a sound that could only be described as the squeal of a love-struck teenaged girl. He read over the single line Thorin had sent about 10 times, trying desperately not to read too much into the fact that the vet had said ‘we’ instead of ‘he’, but he couldn’t stop the cheesy grin that had settled onto his face.

‘Well, this still doesn’t mean anything.’ He tried to convince himself, ‘But at the very least it does mean I’ll get to see him again, and that will have to do for now.”

Bilbo decided against sending anything in reply to Thorin’s last message, and instead hurried down the stairs into his small kitchen, throwing open his cupboard of baking supplies. He wanted to make something to thank the vet for everything he’d done, and if Thorin happened to taste his cooking and immediately fall madly in love with him, well that would just be a bonus.

***

After a busy night of baking Bilbo found himself running slightly late to open his café the next morning. It was now the second morning in a row that he’d failed to open on time, and he knew one customer in particular who was going to be very upset.

"You're late…again." The grey haired, bearded gentleman standing next to the café entrance surveyed him with a look of scrutiny.

"Good morning Gandalf." Bilbo gave a wry smile to his longest standing customer, and very old friend.

"Yes, I suppose it is. However, it would have been far better had it started with a strong cup of coffee and one of your iced buns." The man made a thinly veiled allusion to his lateness.

"I know, I'm very sorry. Things have been a bit crazy, but please come in, I'll put a pot on right away."

Bilbo swiftly unlocked the door and turned on the cafe lights. He made sure not to flip the welcome sign though, as he still needed some time to prepare things for the morning ahead.

He went over to the counter and quickly busied himself with the coffee as Gandalf continued to look him over with a critical eye.

"So my dear, care to share?”

Gandalf settled himself into one of the comfy arm chairs across from the counter.

“Well it’s kind of a long story…” Bilbo busied himself with measuring out the coffee, not really meeting Gandalf’s eye. It’s not that he wanted to hide anything from his old friend, but he still had a horrible ball of guilt weighing down his chest from what had happened to Leo, and he was ashamed to tell the man what he’d done.

"As you may very well know my boy, I have absolutely nothing better to be doing, so please feel free to start at the beginning.” The older man gave him a fond look, reassuring him that it was okay to continue.

“Well I…I got into a bit of an accident the night before last.”

Gandalf immediately straightened up, but Bilbo put up his hand before he could say anything.

“Before you ask, I’m completely all right. It’s not as bad as it sounds…not for me anyway.”

Gandalf kept quiet, waiting for him to continue. 

“It’s a little hard to talk about, but I got caught in that awful downpour, and this dog ran in front of my car and I…” He trailed off, his eyes beginning to water as he recalled the event which was still very fresh in his mind.

“Oh, my dear boy.” Gandalf made his way over to where Bilbo was standing, removing the coffee pot from the younger man’s shaking hand, and resting a reassuring palm on his shoulder.

“He’s okay though! I took him to the vet as soon as it happened, and it was only a broken leg, but I just feel so terrible about it. And the vet, oh my god the vet was so wonderful.” Bilbo couldn’t help the soft smile that sprang to his face, and Gandalf immediately seemed less concerned.

“That’s why you weren’t open yesterday morning?” 

“Ah yes, well, I actually ended up sleeping over at the vet’s office.” Bilbo looked down sheepishly, hurriedly picking up the coffee pot to give his hands something to do.

“I see, and this is because you were concerned about the dog?” Gandalf was looking at him suspiciously again.

“Well yes, and no, I suppose it was kind of an accident. I fell asleep while I was waiting and Thorin seemed to think it was a good idea to let me stay the night.”

“And Thorin is?”

“Oh, he’s the vet. He runs this small practice about 30 minutes from here, it was the closest 24-hour place I could find. It’s really amazing actually, he’s on call all night by himself, and he only has a few colleagues to help him during the day. Anyway, I didn’t mean to stay over but I kind of just woke up there the next morning and that was that.” Bilbo said in a matter-of-factly way as he reached for two cups in the cupboard behind him.

“I see, well that is all rather exciting I must admit. And what is going to happen to the dog now?” Gandalf had settled back into the arm chair as Bilbo brought over a steaming cup of coffee and a slice of the lemon-drizzle cake he’d baked the previous afternoon.

“Well Thorin operated on him yesterday morning, and he did a wonderful job, so for now he just needs to rest. But he should be starting physical therapy in a few weeks. After that he’ll be right as rain, and there shouldn’t be any lasting damage.” He set down the dishes as the older man nodded in thanks.

“So, I would assume you’re going to see him again?” Gandalf took a sip of his coffee as Bilbo stole a bite of the cake.

“Oh well yes, I suppose I will. I guess he’ll be there when I go to check on Leo, that’s what we named the dog by the way, and he mentioned something about teaching me how to help with the physiotherapy, so I’ll get to see him then too.” He mused through a mouthful of lemon drizzle.

“That sounds wonderful my boy, but I meant the dog, not the vet.”

Bilbo immediately choked on his cake, sending a cascade of crumbs flying through the air. 

“What? I mean of course, I knew you meant the dog, I was just saying that Thorin would probably be around too.” Bilbo’s face was burning a bright shade of crimson, which impressed even Gandalf. 

The old man chuckled as he handed Bilbo a napkin, shaking his head knowingly.

“My dear I haven’t heard you talk about anyone so excitedly in all the years I’ve known you, I assume that means there’s something special about this Thorin.”

Despite the clear embarrassment burning his cheeks, Bilbo couldn’t help but smile at the mention of his name.

“Well he seems to be quite an amazing person, and he’s great at what he does. But I only admire him in a professional sense of course.” He tried to seem nonchalant, but his grinning face was doing him no favours.

“Ah yes, _professional_ sense indeed.” Gandalf snorted. “Now, I’m not usually one to meddle…”

This time it was Bilbo’s turn to snort.

“But,” Gandalf threw him a stern look. “I am inclined to mention that it’s not often someone piques your interest, and you’re not exactly getting any younger my boy.”

“Gandalf, I’m 32, I’m not exactly past my sell by date. And besides, you know full well I’m very content with my life as it is.”

“I know, and I’m not trying to suggest that you’re missing anything, but I don’t see anything wrong with adding a little more happiness to your life. I promised your parents I’d keep an eye on you, and I worry.” Gandalf gave him a fond look as he took another sip of coffee.

“I know, I know.” Bilbo sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I mean I’m not saying I don't like him, I just don’t see how someone like that would be interested in me.”

“Now I won’t have that. I don’t care how wonderful he is, you make the best cakes in a 100km radius, and if that doesn’t get you a man nothing will.”

“Jesus Christ, I can’t believe I’m getting relationship advice from someone more than double my age.” Bilbo put his head into his hands to avoid looking at the older man.

“With age comes wisdom master Baggins, so you better do as you’re told.” Gandalf took a final bite of his cake for emphasis, and fixed Bilbo with a stern look.

“Yeah yeah I get it. I’m heading over there a little later anyway to visit Leo, so we’ll see what happens.” Bilbo picked up the now empty plate and wandered over to the counter.

“Right well I’ll be off now, I suddenly remembered I have some very important business to attend to, but I expect to hear of some progress tomorrow.” Gandalf gathered up his coat and headed towards the door.

“Just so you know, I’m blaming you entirely if this whole thing blows up in my face.” Bilbo handed him a carefully wrapped iced-bun for the road and walked him over to the door.

“Don’t sell yourself so short my boy, you’re capable of a lot more than you realise.” And with that the old man was out the door, leaving Bilbo alone with his thoughts.

He glanced down at his watch, noticing it was only 9:30 a.m.

“Right, well that gives me about 3 hours to work myself into a complete panic and decide that this is all a terrible idea. Perfect.” He muttered to himself as he walked back over to the counter to start preparing for the day.

***

“It’s afternoon.” Thorin announced suddenly, walking into the reception area.

“Keen observation there uncle, it is in fact the very definition of _after_ noon.” Fili glanced at the clock behind the desk which read exactly 12:01.

“Thank you for the sarcasm.” Thorin shot his nephew a withering look and handed him the chart from his last patient. 

“What I mean is, if someone were to say they were coming in the afternoon, wouldn’t that count as now?”

“Well by strict definition yes, but by normal human standards probably not.” Kili suddenly appeared from where he had been bent under the counter filing documents.

“Yeah, most people would probably agree that afternoon extends until about 17:00, so it’s a pretty broad window.” Fili leaned on the counter, narrowing his eyes towards his uncle.

“Why, are we expecting someone?” Kili mirrored his brother’s movements, resting his hand on his chin.

“ _We_ are not expecting anyone, but _I_ might be, and that’s absolutely none of your business anyway.”

“Well, we do man the reception desk you know, if you told us what this _someone_ looks like we could keep an eye out for them.” 

“Yes exactly, like say this _someone_ happened to be cute, kinda short, with curly golden hair and was heading straight towards you?”

The two brothers immediately ducked behind the counter as Thorin whipped around to see Bilbo walking across the reception area towards him.

As soon as the smaller man noticed him, he gave him a bright smile and a small wave, which Thorin returned slightly over-enthusiastically.

“I know it’s pretty early by afternoon standards, but I couldn’t wait anymore. How’s the patient doing?” Bilbo asked excitedly as he reached Thorin at the desk.

The vet’s face fell for a split second as he remembered that Bilbo was not only there to see him, but he managed to compose himself immediately.

“Actually, you timed it perfectly, I was about to go on lunch. I can take you to see Leo myself.” Thorin tried to sound as casual as possible.

"Since when do you take lunch?" A giggling voice whispered from under the counter.

“Really, that would be wonderful. As long as I’m not putting you out that is…” Bilbo chose to ignore what he had heard.

“Oh don’t worry about that, a break for me usually means grabbing an apple and trying to catch up on paperwork, so this will actually be a nice change.”

Bilbo looked personally offended at Thorin’s reply, which made the vet wonder if he’d said something wrong.

“Oh no, that won’t do at all, you need to eat something proper. And as a matter of fact I happen to have something for you, for all of you, as a way to say thank you for everything.”

At the mention of food Dwalin suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stood beside Kili and Fili who had now emerged from behind the counter.

Bilbo looked slightly shocked by their sudden appearance, but didn't hesitate in fishing a rather large box out of his bag.

“Oh you really didn’t have to do that…” Thorin started to say.

“Nonsense.” Bilbo interrupted him mid-sentence, placing the large box on the counter. He opened the lid to reveal an assortment of the most incredible cakes and pastries Thorin had ever seen. The smell coming from them was amazing, and the four men all lent closer in awe.

“Did you make these?” Thorin managed to tear his eyes away from the food to address Bilbo.

“Uh huh. I didn’t know what you’d like so I made a few different things. There are carrot cake and walnut muffins, custard tarts, summer berry Danishes, and some bacon and feta quiches in case you felt like something savoury.” Bilbo listed the items as the men practically drooled over the box.

“Marry him uncle.” Kili said, making grabby hands towards one of the muffins.

Thorin and Bilbo coughed simultaneously, both turning a light shade of red at Kili’s words. Luckily the other three were now far too busy stuffing their faces to notice.

“I swear, those three would probably be happy if I paid them in pastries instead of money.” Thorin tried to steer the conversation into safer territory.

“Well, I have been told that my Danishes are worth their weight in gold, so you could probably work out some kind of deal. But you had better get something before they’re all inhaled.” Bilbo chuckled as he watched Thorin risk his right hand trying to grab something to eat.

In the end he managed to salvage a couple of the egg tarts, one muffin, and half a quiche before he gave up.

“I think this is probably as good as it’s going to get, so why don’t we go and check on the patient while these animals finish off the carcass.” He glared at the trio as the continued to plowed their way through the treats.

Bilbo nodded happily, following behind Thorin as he made his way to the kennels in the back. Once inside Bilbo made a beeline for where he remembered Leo’s cage was, and Thorin watched with a soft smile on his face as Leo’s tail began to wag lazily.

“Hey there little lion, how are you doing today?” Bilbo glanced over at Thorin for permission, before carefully lifting the latch to Leo’s kennel door.

The happy dog tried to stand up and greet him, but Bilbo immediately knelt down beside him to stop any unnecessary strain on his leg.

Thorin watched him with interest as the small man maneuvered into the corner and placed the retrievers head onto his lap. Leo immediately let out a contented sigh as Bilbo scratched behind his ears, and Thorin felt a strange warmth spreading in his chest.

He cleared his throat as if trying to dislodge the feeling, and Bilbo looked up at the sound with a smile.

“I can’t believe how good he looks, you’re a miracle worker. No one would believe you were in an accident just two days ago would they?” Bilbo gave Leo another scratch behind the ear.

“Well I’m essentially just the mechanic putting parts back together, most of the hard work is up to Leo there so I can’t take all the credit.” Thorin pulled up a small metal stool and sat down close to the kennel.

“Maybe, but you should definitely take some of it. You deserve it.” Bilbo said quietly, suddenly finding the top of Leo’s head very interesting.

“Well I…thank you. And thank you for the food, it all looks amazing.”

“Please eat, and don’t mind me. If you have something else you need to do I’m sure I’ll be able to find my own way out, I don’t want to take up any of your time.”

“You’re not!” Thorin said a little too loudly, causing Bilbo to raise his eyebrows, and Leo to prick up his ears.

“I mean, I need to take break anyway so don’t worry, I don’t have anywhere else to be.” And with that Thorin shoved some custard tart into his mouth, hoping it would prevent him from saying any more stupid things.

***

They stayed like that for the better part of an hour, Thorin munching away happily while Bilbo told him all about his life and his little café. The smaller man was so animated when he spoke about cooking, and it reminded Thorin of an excitable puppy.

He was so caught up in the conversation that he had almost forgotten he was still at work, and when Dwalin suddenly rushed in with a splatter of blood on his scrubs he was startled harshly back to reality.

“Thorin, emergency patient, we need you now!”

Thorin was up and almost out of the door before Bilbo realised what was happening, but he seemed to catch himself at the last second.

“I need to go, but please stay as long as you like.” And with that he disappeared through the doors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting this story so far, you are all lovely.
> 
> As always, all comments and criticisms are most welcome.
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter will be up within a few days now that I have finally gotten through this one :/


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I even surprised at myself that this chapter was finished so quickly, I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> I also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has left reviews, they are all so amazing. I'm so happy you're enjoying the characters!

Being a vet meant that Thorin got to experience some of the happiest moments of his life at work, but it also meant that he got to experience some of the worst, and today was a particularly ugly day.

The dog who had been brought in had been rescued from a dog fighting ring, where she was being used as a bait dog. The rescuers had been trying to get her for weeks, but the owners were always one step ahead, and now they had finally decided to relinquish her because she was, according to them, of ‘no further use’.

She’d been brought in with an almost uncountable number of bite wounds and lacerations, as well as a few broken bones, and although none of them were life threatening, they were all completely and 100% avoidable.

Thorin had managed to keep his cool while he patched her up and made her comfortable, but as he walked out of the operating room around an hour later his temper got the better of him.

“People are fucking pieces of shit, I don’t understand how anyone could do something like that!” He ripped off his gloves and operating gown and threw them violently into the waste bin.

Dwalin followed closely behind him, looking just about ready to kill.

“I swear if I ever find the people who did this, I’ll be sure to put every single one of my scalpels to very good use.” He continued to storm through the room, knocking into a table as he went and causing a couple of glasses to fall over and shatter on the floor. He didn’t even seem to notice however, and just continued on his war path to the reception area.

He had intended to ask Kili to get on the phone with the police and the SPCA so that they could begin opening a case, but as he went through the doors to the front he immediately walked straight into Bilbo.

The smaller man squeaked in surprise, opening his mouth presumably to ask if everything was okay, but Thorin really wasn’t in the mood.

“What are you still doing here?” He glared at Bilbo.

“I…I was just on my way out.” Bilbo stumbled over his words in shock.

“Good, get out of my way.” Thorin muttered as he pushed past him towards the reception desk.

Kili, sensing danger, was already dialing the number for the SPCA and handed his uncle the phone as soon as he reached the desk. He mouthed a quick ‘I’m sorry’ to Bilbo, who seemed to be frozen in shock, and gestured for him to leave.

Bilbo nodded quickly and headed towards the door, giving Thorin’s furious form one final look before exiting through the front doors.

***

It was about 3 hours later when Thorin was finally finished dealing with the police and the people from the SPCA, and he had also checked in to make sure that their patient was doing okay. He sank down into his office chair, running a tired hand over his stiff neck.

He was about to start working on some of the legal documents he needed to file, when he heard a soft knock on the door.

“Come in.” He called out in a tired voice, most of his anger having dissipated over the last few hours. 

Dwalin made his way into the office and sunk down into the chair opposite Thorin with an equally tired sigh.

“What a fucking day.” He rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension built up over the last few hours.

“You can say that again.” Thorin nodded in agreement, setting aside the thought of paperwork in favour of reaching for his bottom drawer.

It wasn’t often that he drank at work, but sometimes it was very very necessary, and he always kept an emergency bottle of whiskey on hand for such an occasion.

He pulled the bottle and a couple of glasses from his drawer, pouring a generous serving for both him and Dwalin, before settling back into his chair.

Dwalin nodded in thanks and downed just about half of the glass in one go.

“So, do you think they’ll be able to prosecute the bastards who did this?” Dwalin asked from around the rim of his glass.

Thorin sighed heavily, taking a sip from his own.

“I hope so. According to the rescuers there’s plenty of evidence against them, but I’ve seen far too many of these scumbags get off with nothing but a slap on the wrist.”

Dwalin nodded again, not really wanting to think about it.

“I did a quick check on all the other patients before I closed up by the way, Fili and Kili did a fine job. Fili was just changing Leo’s bandage before they finished up for the night.”

“Good, that’s…oh shit.” Thorin suddenly froze as his hand tightened its grip around his glass.

“What?” Dwalin threw him a confused look.

“Bilbo…I…shit!” Thorin slammed the glass down onto the desk and stood up.

“What? What happened?” Dwalin watched him with concern.

“He was there when I got out of surgery and I think I yelled at him. Fuck! I didn’t mean to, but you know how I can be when I’m stressed, I just see red and I don’t really think about what I’m doing.” Thorin paced up and down behind his desk as Dwalin continued to watch him.

“Shit…well maybe it wasn’t as bad as you think?” But even as the words left his mouth Dwalin knew that it probably was.

“No, no, it is. Fuck what am I supposed to say to him?” Thorin flopped back down into his chair, taking another big swig from his glass.

“Well ‘I’m sorry’ would probably be a good place to start. But don’t stress yourself out about it, I’m sure he’ll understand once you explain the situation to him. He seems like a really good lad.”

Thorin glanced at the clock, noticing it was only about 19:30.

“Do you think I should call him?”

Dwalin considered this for a minute before shaking his head.

“Under normal circumstances I would say yes, but I’m kinda worried you’ll say something stupid and make a bigger mess, so maybe a text would be safer?”

“And under normal circumstances I’d say fuck you, but in this case, I think you’re right.”

Dwalin chuckled quietly before downing the rest of his drink and standing up with a groan.

“Quite frankly I don’t care how you do it, but he made us cakes Thorin, so fix this.”

Thorin glared at him. “Oh well thanks a lot, glad to know you’re more concerned about your stomach than my problems.”

“Always am. Well, good luck. Let me know the scale of the devastation in the morning. I’m going home to pizza and my bed.” He gave Thorin a small wave before heading out, closing the door behind him.

***

Thorin had planned to text Bilbo straight away, he really had, but somehow he had ended up spending most of the last hour trying to compose the perfect ‘I’m sorry I know I’m an idiot who has no human skills and sometimes I get angry and yell at very sweet very cute people who don’t deserve it’ text.

This wouldn’t have been too much of a problem though if said planning hadn’t been accompanied by a lot more whiskey drinking. So by the time Thorin was satisfied with what he had written he was actually in no state to be sending texts to anyone, let alone important ones to potentially important people.

_Sent 20:36:  
Hi. I’m really really sorry for what I said, I just love dogs so much. _

_Sent 20:36:  
Usually more than people._

_Sent 20:36:  
You remind me of a dog sometimes._

_Sent 20:36:  
Not like in a bad way though, like in a cosy, warm, cuddle up by the fire kind of way._

_Sent 20:36:  
Does that make sense?_

_Sent 20:37:  
Anyway, I’m sorry again._

_Sent 20:37:  
P.S This is Thorin._

_Sent 20:37:  
P.P.S Please come back, I won’t yell at you again._

And with the last text officially sent Thorin set aside his phone with the whiskey fuelled confidence that he had definitely fixed everything. In celebration he decided to actually go to sleep early for once, and curled up in his little bed, forgetting everything for the time being.

***

Bilbo was more confused than he had ever been in his entire waking life. He’d been minding his own business, casually eating his way through a tray of double chocolate fudge brownies, when his phone had been awakened by an onslaught of text messages.

He didn’t know what he had been expecting when he picked up his phone, but it certainly hadn’t been what appeared to be a series of drunk texts from a very handsome, very intimidating vet.

Of course, he was completely ecstatic that Thorin had gone out of his way to apologise, but he literally had no idea what he was going on about with the cosy fireplace reference. He was also slightly concerned that since the messages appeared to have been sent while under the influence, that Thorin might not be so welcoming once he sobered up.

But putting that aside the vet had definitely made the point of asking him to return, so he wasn’t completely out of the running for now.

Bilbo had been really shocked, and more than a little hurt by Thorin’s words that afternoon, but he also wasn’t an idiot. He knew that under high stress situations some people tended to lash out, even when they didn’t mean to, and it was important to approach these kinds of things with a level of understanding.

While Thorin was in surgery Kili and Fili had filled him in a little about the emergency patient, and it had made Bilbo’s heart ache. He knew that Thorin must have been absolutely furious after the whole thing, so he really was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He spent a few minutes mulling over his reply before he sent it off.

_Sent 20:42:_

_Its okay, I understand. Your job is important to you and you were just trying to do your best in a bad situation. Don’t worry about me._

_P.S I figured haha.._

_P.P.S You can’t get rid of me that easily._

He decided to ignore the fact that Thorin had compared him to a dog, and chose to take that as a compliment from someone who had dedicated his life to them. He was still a little apprehensive about visiting the practice again though, and decided that it would probably be best to give things a few days to cool down.

***

Thorin was brought violently into the realm of consciousness by a very annoying, repetitive beeping sound. He rolled over with a groan, stretching out a stiff arm to effectively destroy the source of the noise, but after repeatedly hitting his alarm clock harder than was strictly necessary it still hadn’t stopped.

He groaned again before slowly cracking open his eyes, only to be greeted by the very last thing he wanted to see. Kili and Fili were standing at the foot of his bed, barely stifling their laughs and holding out a phone which appeared to be the source of the offending noise. 

“Wakey wakey uncle, it’s time to greet the day.” Fili smirked, finally turning off the alarm.

Thorin knew his nephews would never have been so bold if he was at full strength, but even in his weakened state he managed to fix them with a deathly glare.

“Do you two have a death wish? What the hell are you doing?”

“Oh come on, is that any way to greet your darling nephews in the morning?” Kili made his way over to the window and rolled open the blinds.

Thorin immediately threw a pillow at him and smiled in satisfaction when he heard a small ‘ouch’.

“Seriously though, when did you two stop finding me scary? When you were little I only had to look at you and you’d do literally anything I said.”

“Oh, well that was when we discovered that you’re actually all soft and marshmallowy on the inside. It would be like being scared of a teddy bear.” Fili mused as he handed his uncle a cup of coffee.

“I can still fire you though, you know?” Thorin took a sip of the miracle liquid, immediately feeling more human.

“Touché. To be honest though we were actually a little worried after yesterday, so we just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Kili dropped down on the bed next to his uncle.

“Idiots, I’m fine.” Thorin said as he smiled softly into his coffee, which was Oakenshield family speak for ‘Thank you, I’m okay, I love you.’

“Good. Well not to rush you or anything, but it is nearly 9:00, so you might want to think about getting up.” Fili nodded towards the clock on the wall.

“What, are you serious? Why didn’t you wake me earlier? What about the patients?” Thorin was already halfway to the door, pulling on his shoes as he went.

“Calm down, we opened up this morning and made sure everyone was awake and fed. We’re not completely useless you know.” 

“Oh...well thank you. Good to know you’re earning your keep.” Thorin tried to sound sarcastic, but he truly was grateful.

“Right, well I suppose we should all get to work.” Thorin nodded at his nephews to leave, but they both hovered reluctantly at the door.

“What is it?” Thorin frowned at them in confusion.

“Well, it’s just that...I saw what happened with Bilbo yesterday.” Kili squeaked out, looking at his shoes the whole time.

“He is coming back right? Please tell me we’re not going to have to say goodbye to those pastries.” Fili looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Jesus not you too. Does anyone around here actually care about me, or are you all more concerned with your stomachs?”

Kili and Fili both shrugged, pretending to give it some serious thought.

“Oh get out of here both of you, I need to get ready. Or I’ll have you both cleaning kennels for the rest of the day.” And with that he shooed his ungrateful nephews out, both of them laughing as they went.

They did have a point though, and even though he’d been trying to ignore it he knew that he’d have to face the situation sooner or later. He vaguely remembered sending some sort of apology text the previous night, but he couldn’t bring himself to check exactly what he had written.

It’s wasn’t like he could ignore it forever though, so with a deep breath he picked up his phone and lit up the screen. There was a single reply waiting for him and he gulped slowly as he opened the message.

He didn’t really know what he’d expected the other man to say, but the sigh of relief he let out after reading the message was probably audible from the next room. He hadn’t completely screwed things up, and Bilbo was going to come back. Today was going to be a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there will finally be some actual relationship progress in the next chapter, thank you for sticking with it this far!
> 
> As always I would love to hear your thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another big thank you to everyone who has been leaving such lovely reviews, I'm really happy you're enjoying this fic.
> 
> I'm sorry the updates haven't been very consistent, but work usually saps most of my enthusiasm for life :/
> 
> Not much to say about this chapter other than the fact that Thorin is actually me whenever I'm faced with an even remotely important social situation.
> 
> Happy reading!

The rest of the day had gone by in an odd mixture of giddiness and hangover. Thorin had felt a bit fragile for most of the morning, but his professionalism and training had kept him from showing it to his patients.

Although no matter how put together he appeared on the outside, he couldn’t help the searing pang of guilt he felt when he asked Dwalin to take the lead on his 2 surgeries scheduled for that morning. Neither of them were difficult or dangerous procedures, and he really had nothing more than a headache and a bit of nausea, but Thorin would sooner cut off his hand than operate on an animal when he wasn’t at his complete best.

He was just beginning to feel like a nap was in order around 14:30, when Dwalin suddenly sidled up to his desk with a smug look on his face.

“Just remind me again, who is your best friend in the whole entire world?” 

Thorin shot him a suspicious look. “All right, what do you want?”

“Oh nothing, nothing. I just thought you needed a reminder about who loves you the most around here.” Dwalin continued to grin as he pulled a McDonalds bag out from behind his back.

Thorin’s hands immediately shot out towards the bag of divine goodness, but Dwalin yanked it away with lightning speed.

“Uh-uh-uh, this doesn’t come for free you know.”

Thorin fixed him with a determined glare. “Name your price.”

“No kennel cleaning duty for a week…”

“Done.” Thorin snatched at the bag again, but Dwalin was too quick.

“AND…some more of Bilbo’s pastries.”

Thorin immediately retracted his hand and seemed to consider Dwalin’s words for a few seconds. 

“You know what, keep your filthy blackmail McDonalds, I don’t need it.” He turned away in a huff, but continued to look at the bag out of the corner of his eye.

“Are you sure? It smells so good. I even watched them making the fries, so you know it’s a fresh batch.” Dwalin opened the bag, releasing the heavenly scent.

Thorin’s resolve lasted all of 5 seconds before he made another grab for it. “Ah come on, can't I just have a few? I'll get you cakes from somewhere else, anywhere else, as many as you want."

"Nope. It's Bilbo's cakes or nothing."

"And what? Do you expect me to just call him up and demand he brings cake here for you?" Thorin gave him a look of exasperation, as if the mere idea of him making a phone call was completely ludicrous.

"Of course not, that would be silly.” 

Thorin immediately nodded in agreement.

“Buuut you mentioned he has a café, didn't you?"

The vet's face paled at the mere insinuation that he was supposed to visit Bilbo. In person. In real life.

"You can't be serious, you actually want me to go there?"

"That would be correct." Dwalin nodded with a grin.

"Dwalin,” Thorin gave him a look of the utmost seriousness. “In all the years you've known me have I ever once made it through an even vaguely important social situation without panicking immediately, and subsequently spending 99% of the time talking about work? Nobody but you could spend 2 hours listening to me talk about the modern advancement of canine prosthetic research without wanting to murder me."

His friend seemed to consider this for a few moments. "Well yes, you have a fair point…but this will be easy I promise. All you have to do is walk in and say 'Nice place you've got here, can I have some cake? Oh and also would you be interested in going out sometime?’ It’ll be completely fine, people do it all the time.”

“And you say that like I’m actually people.” Thorin frowned. “Also, when the hell did this go from me getting you cakes to me asking him out, that wasn’t part of the deal.”

“I know, but I just figured while you’re there…” Dwalin shrugged.

“Sure, why not. And while I’m at it I’ll start doing yoga, eating kale, and cultivating functioning social relationships, because apparently we’re in an alternate reality where I do those kinds of things.”

“Look, I’m not suggesting you try and fix all of your problems in one go, because let’s face it that would be impossible, but I just think this would be a good place to start.” Dwalin gave his friend an affectionate pat on the shoulder before pushing the bag of food towards him.

“You never know, you might surprise yourself.”

***

And that is how Thorin Oakenshield found himself standing on a busy street corner staring at a quaint café situated just across the road.

It was exactly as Bilbo had described to him the day before, but even without knowing what it looked like he was sure he'd be able to tell who it belonged to. It gave off the same comforting, homey feeling as the man himself, and Thorin didn't understand how that was possible considering it was just a building.

He spent the better part of 5 minutes simply staring at the shop front, before he finally found the courage to cross the road.

'Come on Oakenshield, you can do this, it's just like any other place you've ever been to. You go in, you order, you leave. For all you know he might not even be there.'

By the time he was finished with his pep talk he had reached the café door, and he would probably have spent another age standing in front of it had it not been for the person who happened to arrive at the exact same time as him.

They looked at each other as they both reached the door simultaneously, and Thorin noticed it was an older man with a kindly, if not somewhat mischievous, smile on his face. They nodded at one another, and the man lent forward to open the door, gesturing for Thorin to go in first.

"After you." He added politely.

Thorin swallowed. He had not been planning to go right in because he definitely still needed time to prepare himself, and his brain was currently having an internal argument about what the proper protocol was in this situation.

_He opened the door for you, you have to go in now._

'But I'm not ready yet.'

_Yeah but it would look really weird if you don't, so do it._

'No it's okay, I can just pretend I forgot something or...'

_Okay sure, so are you going to walk back across the street again? What if people saw you do it the first time? You'll look crazy._

'Nobody is watching me, don’t be silly.' 

_You don't know that, someone could have already seen you stand on that corner for a weirdly long amount of time, then walk to the café, then walk back again, and then back to the café later. They'll think you're insane._

'Literally no one is paying that much attention to me.'

_Okay, but what if Bilbo has already seen you?_

'It'll be fine, I can tell him I just went to grab my phone or something.'

_Well whatever you do you better hurry up because this guy is still holding the door for you._

"Fuck." Thorin unintentionally said out loud.

"I beg your pardon?" The older man gave him a confused look.

"No, I mean...sorry. Thank you." Thorin immediately ducked into the cafe, leaving the undoubtedly confused man behind him.

He gave the room a quick once over, and noted that while it wasn't very big or busy, it had a really warm atmosphere. It was the kind of place he could actually see himself spending some time, and again he could feel the presence of Bilbo practically seeping out of the walls.

Or at least he'd thought it was seeping out of the walls, but it was more likely coming from the man himself, who was currently serving a customer from behind the front counter.

Thorin turned immediately at the sound of Bilbo's voice, and saw him in casual conversation with the man from the front door. He was smiling fondly as the man told him something, and Thorin noticed as the grey-haired head flicked backwards ever so slightly in his general direction. Bilbo's eyes immediately followed the gesture, and Thorin had never seen someone go from smiling to shocked in such a short amount of time.

Bilbo immediately said something to the older man, and disappeared under the counter, only to emerge a second later and begin heading straight towards Thorin himself.

Thorin gave him a small wave, and tried to look less creepy than he must have been just standing in the back of the room watching them talk.

It only took Bilbo a second to reach him, and he did so with a big smile on his face.

"Thorin, you're in my café." Bilbo looked confused, but mostly happy.

"Yes, I mean is that okay? Should I..." Thorin gestured vaguely towards the door.

"No! No of course not, I'm just surprised. I didn't expect to see you."

"Yes well, Dwalin really wanted some more of your baked goods, and he kind of blackmailed me. So here I am." Thorin gave him a sheepish smile.

Bilbo's face fell for a second, and Thorin could swear he looked disappointed. "Blackmailed you, huh?"

"Not that I didn't want to come! I wanted to see your place too." Thorin immediately back-tracked.

Bilbo perked up a little at this, but still didn't look completely convinced. "Well this is it. It's not much, but it's mine."

"I really like it, it's got a good feeling about it. I think it's..." Thorin suddenly trailed off as he noticed the older man from earlier staring at them from the counter. He appeared to be helping himself to a slice of cake while he openly watched the pair of them talking.

Bilbo looked at him in confusion for a second, before he followed Thorin's gaze and let out a chuckle. 

"Oh, don't mind the audience." Bilbo said loud enough for the man to hear, at which he immediately looked away and busied himself with pouring a cup of coffee.

"He's an old friend and far too nosy for his own good, don't worry about him." Bilbo said in a lower voice so that only Thorin could hear.

"Ah, I see." Thorin didn’t know quite what else to say.

“So, um…baked goods yes? Any specific requests?” Bilbo was apparently trying to make the situation a little less awkward, and Thorin was eternally grateful.

“I don’t think so, they’d be happy with literally anything.” Thorin trailed behind Bilbo as he started walking towards the counter.

They stopped when they reached a glass display full of assorted baked goods, and Bilbo made a sweeping arm gesture in front of it, as if he was showing off his kingdom.

“Behold my wares.” He said with a chuckle. “Take a look and let me know what to box up for you. I’m just going to check on something, so call me when you’re ready.”

Bilbo turned and looked as if he was about to leave Thorin to his pastry-related decisions, but before he could register what he was doing Thorin had caught him gently by the sleeve, and the smaller man turned around again with questioning eyes.

“Look…” Thorin cleared his throat nervously. “I just wanted to apologise properly for what I said yesterday, it was completely uncalled for.” He dropped his hand from Bilbo’s sleeve, but didn’t stop looking at him.

Bilbo frowned ever so slightly before his face softened.

“Really, it’s okay Thorin. I understand that you were stressed, and it was just bad timing. Hell, if someone interrupts me while I’m trying to make chocolate soufflé they’ll be lucky to leave with all of their limbs intact.” Bilbo trailed off. “Not that I’m suggesting that it’s a comparable situation, but…”

Thorin took a deep breath as he listened, wondering how on Earth anyone could be that nice. He still felt like he needed to explain himself though, so he ploughed on.

“No, no it’s not really okay. I need to be more accountable for the things I say. It’s easy to forget when you spend most of your time with animals, but it’s not an excuse.” Thorin started to fidget with his hands nervously.

Bilbo was quiet for a good few seconds, his face awash with contemplation. 

“Well,” He finally replied. “The mere fact that you’re even saying this to me kind of tells me more than any apology ever could. Anyone can say sorry Thorin, but admitting to a mistake, or something you struggle with, is far more difficult. So thank you.”

Thorin looked at him in shock for a second, he hadn’t quite expected such an honest reply. But for pretty much the first time outside of Dwalin and his nephews, he felt like he didn’t mind showing himself to someone. Especially since that someone already seemed to see him just as he was.

“Plus, to be honest, you already explained yourself pretty well in those texts.” Bilbo added with a cheeky smile.

Thorin’s cheeks immediately turned a deep shade of crimson as he remembered the incriminating messages from the previous evening.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, those were written by drunk Thorin, not me.” When in doubt, deny deny deny.

Bilbo started to laugh at this, leaning against the glass for support.

“Well, next time you see drunk Thorin could you ask him why he compared me to a dog by the fireplace? I’m pretty curious about that one.”

“I’m definitely going to have to have a word with him, he’s always saying crazy stuff.” Thorin was sure he was going to spontaneously combust at this point.

“So anyway, back to the cakes?” Bilbo was still giggling, but thankfully seemed to be done with his teasing.

“Oh god yes, cakes. What do you recommend?” Thorin was happy to put his attention on literally anything else at this point.

Bilbo smiled and began to list a couple of items that Thorin should consider getting. Thorin however didn’t hear a word of it, as his mind was currently focused on another task. He couldn’t exactly understand why, but as he watched the smaller man talk animatedly about the creations behind the glass he felt like he desperately needed to be a part of the happiness that was radiating off of him.

Midway through Bilbo’s loving description of a summer berry mille-feuille Thorin suddenly turned to him and blurted out.

“Do you eat?”

Bilbo stopped mid-sentence and turned to him in confusion.

“No! What? I mean, do you want to eat? With me? Not right now obviously, but maybe like next time you’re hungry? We could eat together.” Thorin looked like he was on the verge of hyperventilating as he finally closed his mouth.

Bilbo looked at him for a second, before bursting into peals of laughter again.

Thorin didn’t know much, but he knew that laughing definitely wasn’t a good sign. He stood watching the smaller man cautiously for a few seconds while he regained some of his composure.

“Wow, just wow. Here I was with this giant crush on you, worrying myself sick about how to talk to you again without embarrassing myself, and you just go and turn the tables out of nowhere like that.” Bilbo was still giggling a little, but his eyes were full of warmth.

Now Thorin was the one to look shocked and confused.

“What I mean is yes, I eat. And I could be hungry on say, Friday night? Would that work for you?”

“Yes!” Thorin shouted out before he could really understand what had happened.

“Good. Now let’s get you some brownies, banana bread, and maybe some custard slices for good measure.” Bilbo smiled brightly as he wandered behind the display, leaving Thorin wondering how that jumbled mess of word vomit had somehow worked out in his favour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay progress!
> 
> A few people have been interested in what is going to happen to Leo, so I promise there is going to be more of him in the next chapter.
> 
> As always I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on what you'd like to see in this story.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
